The Deadlift, my journey.

[BoatingAccident]

Hey all, I noticed not posts in the health/fitness forum, so I thought I'd kick one off.

I am a big fan of weightlifting, and most specifically, the lift called the deadlift.

Around 15 years ago, when I was 21, I became lethargic. I stopped sports, activities.
After some time, I started having back pain. I saw a doctor about it.

That doctor told me, that I had arthritis of the spine, and I would be fighting back pain the rest of my life. Imagine, getting that info when you are only 21! Needless to say, I was wrecked.

So, I saw another doctor. This doctor, told me that she knew a marathon runner that had arthritis so bad in her knees...it was bone on bone, no cartilage left. But, this runner ran marathons.

I asked, "how, why?" Every question I could.

[BoatingAccident]

So, that doctor told me, that the muscles surrounding the joints, took the weight, took the work.

That next day, I was in the gym, buidling muscle to fix my back.

Fast forward to today, I have zero back pain. I can go to the gym, and deadlift 300 lbs. I am active, and living life to the fullest.

I thank that doctor, every day.

So, why am I a big fan of the deadlift?

The deadlift, you are training for life. When you go pick up your morning paper, you just did a deadlift. When your grandson, runs to give you a hug...and you lift him up, you just did a deadlift.

You deadlift everyday, without realizing it.

[BoatingAccident]

So, by training, for life...life gets easier.

I can attest to this. My back is as strong as an ox, all because...I listen to one doctor, and told another...to fvck off.

I think with anything in life, perhaps, our experiences can help others.

[johnlvs2run]

Good post. I'm a firm believer that keeping the muscles strong is important for keeping the bones strong as well. Weak muscles = weak bones, and cause the internal organs to collapse.

I did olympic weightlifting for a year or two in my 20's and managed to c&j 280 pounds weighing 146, full squat with 385 and dl 335 (only tried it once). My method was to focus on doing many single lifts in an evening and doing this three times a week.

Then I went back to running and ran many marathons. In the meantime I hardly touched any weights at all but am starting to use them again, just for basic strength not anything outstanding. I've been doing just standing press the past week. A couple years ago I did the dl for a month and got up to 230 or so. But I think it's better to do many consistent singles, for training, rather than working up to one max and not being consistent. For strength, it's the total poundage in singles that counts over time.

[BoatingAccident]

A couple years ago I did the dl for a month and got up to 230 or so. But I think it's better to do many consistent singles, for training, rather than working up to one max and not being consistent. For strength, it's the total poundage in singles that counts over time.


Great advise, thanks for pointing this out. It really isn't about the max weight, but the consistent weight. Even folks just lifting 25-50 lbs, it's still good life training.

Consistency is key. I agree with that.

[Brent]

Deadlift, Squat, and Benchpress are the only exercises that are truly needed. If you add some running or walking to that and you have a complete workout. The human body is an amazing thing.

[Pat Pat]

I did weightlifting for 20+ years

great stuff

I have since migrated to bodyweight exercises (push ups, pull ups, hindu squats, etc)

when I was at my peak, I was deadlifting 600+ lbs

I could do 500 lb deads for sets of 10

the whole gym would shake, funny stuff

no more for me, I am happy with bodyweight exercises

[johnlvs2run]

This is a nice video of the two olympic lifts.
I like how it shows them doing the singles over and over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8FYEJkvSQ&feature=PlayList&p=F475098309C69BDF

[saint]

Deadlift, Squat, and Benchpress are the only exercises that are truly needed. If you add some running or walking to that and you have a complete workout. The human body is an amazing thing.


X2.

Big three will do wonders for almost everyone.

I laugh every time I see a spandex clad trainer showing an overweight housewife on the finder points of a leg curl machine.

ST

[saint]

I did weightlifting for 20+ years

great stuff

I have since migrated to bodyweight exercises (push ups, pull ups, hindu squats, etc)

when I was at my peak, I was deadlifting 600+ lbs

I could do 500 lb deads for sets of 10

the whole gym would shake, funny stuff

no more for me, I am happy with bodyweight exercises




Nice Dead.
Being over 40 - I have backed them down and do more leg presses.
I rarely go max effort as I don't want to hurt myself.

ST

[Olmstein]

Big fan of the basic lifts here, too. Deadlift, squat, bench press. It's all you need.

pat pat, your numbers are very impressive, I think my max back when I was actively lifting was about 350 on the deadlift.

[BoatingAccident]

Big fan of the basic lifts here, too. Deadlift, squat, bench press. It's all you need.

pat pat, your numbers are very impressive, I think my max back when I was actively lifting was about 350 on the deadlift.


Indeed, those three lifts are the core of my weight training. Everything else is secondary. 350 is a damn good lift.

[BoatingAccident]

This is a nice video of the two olympic lifts.
I like how it shows them doing the singles over and over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8FYEJkvSQ&feature=PlayList&p=F475098309C69BDF


Those guys are amazing, that's some heavy weight they are moving around.

Also, did you notice they are barefoot?

If my gym would let me squat or deadlift barefoot, I would. I see guys wearing jogging shoes, a big no no. The best shoes I've found are the old converse all stars. They keep your feet flat, with litte cushion.

[Galen]

Not about deadlift but similar.

I was recently told by my doctor that I have the beginnings of osteo-arthritis in my knees. He put me in PT and said "build up your leg muscles if you want to avoid the pain" , you won't stop the progression of the problem, but you'll delay it a lot. So I began reading......, ended up joining a fitness club. Knee pain went away (99%).

[johnlvs2run]

Those guys are amazing, that's some heavy weight they are moving around.

Also, did you notice they are barefoot?

If my gym would let me squat or deadlift barefoot, I would. I see guys wearing jogging shoes, a big no no. The best shoes I've found are the old converse all stars. They keep your feet flat, with litte cushion.


Indeed, quite amazing.

I always lifted barefoot at home, but had weightlifting shoes for the gym and competitions, that had a slight heel lift.

Seeing that video makes me remember how enjoyable it was at the time, and the realization that I could have done a lot more singles than I did.



"build up your leg muscles if you want to avoid the pain" ... So I began reading......, ended up joining a fitness club. Knee pain went away (99%).

That's a great testimonial. Walking and running are also excellent for the knees especially up and down hills. Too many people sit in a chair all day long. I was doing that myself, did not like it at all and now I only sit or lay down on the floor after dark. The rest of the day I'm on my feet, including when using the computer. This also helps me to move around and get more things done. The chair is one of the worst inventions, especially those lazy-boy chairs, that completely wreck people's bodies and spines to where they are not able to walk any more.

Another thing is to avoid any fluoride in the water, because it destroys the bones and is also a cause of osteoarthritis.

[Kali]

I started doing air squats a few months ago....fixed an old knee problem I had for years.

Deadlifts used to be called "health lifts" I believe.

They're great for the back when done with proper form.

[Jewboo]

So, by training, for life...life gets easier.

:) Meanwhile...nine years later at GSUS:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX6I6vs1EFs